On Watching an Old CSI

I love watching CSI, the original, from out of Las Vegas. It's fun because they are not always successful. But to a large extent the way shows like that are written, the results are what the writers start with. So, they have to write the rest so, the investigators can be logically progressed to find out the precise answers. The show I watched today was about a plane full of passengers who collectively killed another passenger who had gone besserk. The show was clearly written before 9/11, I'm sure the producers would never have allowed a subject like this to be a story on the show, had it been written after. What was fascinating was how my attitude had changed. I knew at least two firemen who died in the towers. I knew at least ten or fifteen others who were there, or had put in loads of overtime in the next few months trying to find their comrades, or to simply make sense of what happened. Many of those guys who put in the overtime, retired after that year secondary to the debris in their lungs. While watching that particular CSI, the group figures out what happened, that the besserk passenger was suffering from an encephalitis which caused him to have an intractable headache, so he proceeded to pound on the cabin door, attempted to open the hatch and leave the plane, while it was in the air, and was abusive to the other passengers and crew. All of the passengers subdued him, and ultimately caused his death. The CSIs were dissappointed because the passengers were not prosecuted. Grissom, the curmudgeon among the investigators, sagely observes at the end, that if only someone would have asked this man what was wrong, they could have averted the death. How quaint, how sanctimonious we all once were, if only we knew what is in the mind of the shoe bomber, or the underware bomber, or the dozens of other suicide bombers who kill us. If only those CIA operatives knew what was in the mind of suicide bomber who killed seven of them. If only Dan Perl knew what was in the minds of people who abducted him and cut off his head. At this moment and in retrospect, it really is not relevant about is what on the mind of these terrorists. This is not about counselling would be bombers to find another line of work. We do not have the luxury that we had in 2000 when that particular CSI was shot. If someone acts erratic on a plane, they must be removed; if someone does not obey the flight crew, they are off the plane. If our National Security Advisor must finish a ski trip before he deals with a terrorist, he ought to be fired, because we do not have time to teach him his job. If our Director of Homeland Security has to redeploy her staff to refocus on a war that has been going on since 9/11/2001, she ought to be fired, because we do not have the luxury of her learning on the job. We hired a president who was green behind the ears, so what should we have expected? Shouldn't we give him time to get his sea legs? Aren't we being hard on him, isn't it racist to say that he isn't protecting us, and since he's black, aren't we being racist. Well, a famous president once said, "the buck stops here", and it meant that he was responcible for the choices and actions he took. This president assured us that his inexperience would not endanger us. That is not a black or white thing. That is not even a democrat/republican thing. That is a fact thing, he chose his staff, and he delegated a certain level of responsibility to them for protection of the American People. If they cannot do their jobs, they have to go. This is not a learn as we go sort of experience. Her system of an autopilot run homeland security system might not work the next time. Perhaps, the bomber will be smarter or more experienced, or the other passengers a bit more timid. Regardless, do you want a person in place who went in front of millions of Americans and assured us that the system worked, when she apparently had no knowledge of what had worked? Prior to 9/11, the CSI I watched, basically faulted the passengers for reacting. Now, our Homeland Security Director tells us, that the system worked, when the passengers saved themselves, interesting evolution of thought.